The Proposal
by NATFreak
Summary: War Hero Uzumaki Naruto gathers the courage to ask his girlfriend a question that would change their lives forever. For my ninja on his birthday. NaruHina. SasuSaku. R&R!


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto-sensei does.

 **A/N: For my ninja and the greatest hero there has ever been on his birthday, I present this sweet little NaruHina one-shot where Naruto gathers the courage to ask his girlfriend a question that would change their lives forever. Enjoy!**

"I don't see what the big deal is," said Sakura as she leaned against her doorway with her arms crossed. "You know she'll say yes so just ask her."

"It's not that easy," murmured Naruto. "I want to do it in a really special way but I'm not very good at that kind of thing which is why I thought you might have an idea on how to do it."

"Ah, I see," remarked Sakura, smiling knowingly as she ran a hand through her cherry blossom hair. "You still feel bad about not realizing the true extent of Hinata's feelings for you and that you felt the same in return. You are an idiot, after all. You didn't even know what love is until that guy kidnapped her."

Naruto blushed. "Will you help me or not, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura grinned. "Yes, I'll help you."

"Really?" Naruto asked his longtime friend. Sakura nodded. "So what do we do first?"

The kunoichi raised her left hand to her mouth thoughtfully. "Well, knowing Hinata she won't need something over-the-top to show how much you care about her so I'd say a simple romantic dinner like a picnic by a moonlit lake would be enough. There's going to be a full moon tonight so you actually have perfect timing for once."

"I'm not the greatest when it comes to cooking," he reminded her unnecessarily.

"Neither am I," Sakura admitted with a sigh. "But there's someone who is."

"Who?" inquired Naruto.

"Someone who's going to get a kick out of me asking her for help," she replied.

~ The Proposal ~

"Who would have imagined that little Naruto would come to me for help in proposing to his girlfriend," mused Ino with a playful smirk as she stood behind the counter of her family's flower shop. "Sure, I'll whip up a nice little picnic for you. I'll even throw in an arrangement of flowers, on the house."

Naruto grinned. "Thank you, Ino!"

"Hold on," cautioned Sakura, watching her rival curiously. "What's the catch?"

"Now, Sakura, why does there have to be a catch?" asked Ino, still smiling.

"Because there always is," Sakura pointed out. "So what do you want, Ino?"

"Only to spend some time with my friend," Ino told her. "It's about time you learned to be a decent cook, don't you think?"

Sakura flushed but nodded.

"What should I do?" said Naruto.

Ino shrugged. "Whatever you want, just be back here in a couple of hours."

~ The Proposal ~

Naruto wandered around town for a while before ending up in front of the Stone Faces, staring at the visage of his father. "Were you this nervous when you asked Mom to marry you, Dad? Probably not, huh? I wish I was smooth like you but I'm afraid I'll just make a fool of myself."

"You are a fool, clumsy idiot," said a familiar voice behind him.

The blond ninja turned sharply around to see his best friend and brother standing behind him. "Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

"A man can't return home every now and again?" inquired the former rogue ninja. "I came to give my report to Kakashi and to check in on Sakura who told me you're planning to propose to Hinata in a 'romantic way'. In other words, you're trying to be someone you're not which is why you are now here talking to a rock, complaining about being confused though, in your defense, that is your normal state of being."

"What would you have me do then?" demanded Naruto. "Asking someone to marry you is kind of a big deal especially when that person patiently waited for years for an idiot who did not even know what love meant, let alone that he returned those feelings until it was almost too late. That's why I want to do this in a special way."

"Whereas I understood perfectly how much Sakura cared about me but I still chose to leave the village and do things I will never be able to completely make up for no matter how long this mission takes me," said Sasuke. "Look, my point is they both waited for us because they love who we are and thus would not want us to be someone different so just be yourself. What do you guys normally do for a date?"

"We go get some ramen then take a walk outside the village," Naruto told him.

Sasuke smirked. "Now that sounds more like you. Do that and when you find the perfect spot, ask her straight out because that's who you are and no one wants to listen to an idiot stutter for twenty minutes."

"But…" murmured Naruto, glancing up at Minato.

Sasuke sighed. "You're not your father, clumsy idiot. Besides, didn't you tell me once you met your mom when you were learning how to control Kurama?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, she told me about how she came here to be his Jinchuriki and how she met my dad who was the only one who did not treat her like an outsider."

"And did she mention how your dad proposed to her with some grand gesture that was the complete opposite of his personality?" asked Sasuke pointedly.

"No," confirmed Naruto. "All she wanted to talk about was how much she loved him."

Sasuke placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Relax. She'll say yes. All you have to do is be your usual idiotic self."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks, Sasuke."

~ The Proposal ~

Naruto took a deep breath as he stood outside Hinata's home. He raised his hand and was about to knock when the door was opened by Hanabi, her younger sister.

"You're late," she informed him, placing her hands on her hips. "You're usually here earlier than this. It's not gentlemanly to keep a lady out late, you know."

"Nice to see you too, Hanabi," replied Naruto. "Can I come in?"

"I suppose," the young kunoichi murmured, stepping aside. She pointed at a bench placed underneath one of the trees in the garden where Hinata was sitting. "She's over there."

"Thanks," murmured Naruto before making his way over to her. He leaned against the tree and grinned down at her. "Hey."

Hinata smiled up at him. "Did Hanabi give you a hard time at the gate?"

"Oh yeah," he confirmed, sighing dramatically. "Kaguya wasn't half as scary as she is."

Hinata laughed. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Well, what would you like to do?" inquired Naruto.

"I could really go for some ramen right now," she admitted. "Then maybe a little walk in the woods, just the two of us like we always do."

 _Well it won't be exactly like we always do,_ thought Naruto as he discovered his nerves had disappeared since he no longer felt pressured to be someone he was not. _Guess Sasuke was right, after all._

~ The Proposal ~

"Ichiraku's ramen is the best," declared Hinata with a contented sigh. She linked her arm with her boyfriend's as they strode through the forest away from the noise of the village. "Thank you again for treating me, Naruto-kun."

"No problem," he assured her before guiding her to a fallen tree. "Wanna rest here for a minute? I kind of want to ask you something."

"What is it?" inquired Hinata worriedly as they sat down.

Naruto shook his head and turned towards her, clasping one of her hands with his. "All I knew before I became a ninja was an all-consuming loneliness that threatened to swallow me whole but then Iruka-sensei accepted me and I finally got to experience the compassion of another human being. I continued to feel this with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke. It was not until I realized what it meant to be in love with a person who was neither my friend nor someone I viewed as a family member that life could get even better. You were the one who showed me that, Hinata, and I'm sorry to have taken so long figuring this whole thing out but at least now I know what I should do next. Hinata, will you marry me?"

"Yes," replied Hinata, blushing with happiness as tears lined her eyes. "Of course, I will!"

Naruto grinned and embraced her, never noticing the two onlookers watching the happy couple.

"See? I told you this would be better," Sasuke told Sakura, as Naruto and Hinata shared a kiss.

"Fine, you were right," she admitted begrudgingly. "I still like the nice romantic picnic idea."

"It's a good thing I have this then, isn't it?" mused Sasuke, holding up a picnic basket.

"When did you-?" murmured Sakura.

"When you were arguing with Ino about the flower arrangement," he informed her, offering her his arm. "What do you say we don't let all the food you made go to waste?"

Sakura grinned and took his arm. "I'm really glad I waited for you."

"So am I," Sasuke agreed. "So am I."

 **A/N: And there you have it, sweet little NaruHina one-shot with a touch of SasuSaku for my ninja on his birthday. I am so glad I was able to finish this on time. Happy birthday Naruto and thank you for everything! Til next time, read review and show the love!**


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